Tea Time
by DrawnInTwilight
Summary: When her brothers' antics take her mother's attention for the day, Lily Potter's tea party is nearly ruined. Thank goodness for tired hero dads! One Shot


_**A/N:** I only own Jasene and her sons (since her daughters aren't mentioned)-and I say "her" because I don't own her husband *shrug* Anyway, other than the appearance of said sons, there's next to nothing associated with my AU ^_^ Aren't you proud?... erm... Alrighty then. Enjoy!_

"Mum!"

The shout broke through any hope of silence Ginny Potter had for the afternoon. Sighing she levitated the good china her mother had given her to a higher shelf, though with James and Albus as sons that probably wouldn't help.

"Mum?" came the musical voice from her elbow, miraculously cutting through the noise. "Here!"

"Oh? What's this?" she asked, taking the folded paper from her daughter. Inside Lily Luna had inscribed a series of scribbles in a multitude of crayons. Her version of writing in script.

The little redhead put her hands on her hips and made a face. "It's an invitation!" she said, over-annunciating every syllable. "For my tea party!"

"_MUM!_" James's voice bellowed again.

Ginny sighed. She'd forgotten about the tea party Lily had mentioned two days ago. "Oh I can't join today, Love," she said patting her daughter's head and placing the invitation on the counter. "I have a feeling I'll be running to St. Mungos with your brothers and cousins."

She knew her sons too well. If not one of them, then it would be one of her brother's twin sons—Felix and Garret. If only Jasene and Fred hadn't gone away for a romantic break at the same time their elder sons were off at school. She couldn't blame them—though, as soon as they came back, she was determined to give them a taste of their own medicine and go off with Harry for a week.

Granted, Jasene and Fred Weasley would probably love the experience.

"Oh Auntie _GIN-ny_!" came the sing-song voices of the twins. Always a bad sign.

Ginny grabbed her purse, wand, and car keys. "I have to go, Love," she said giving Lily a quick peck on the head as she ran for the back door. "Don't wake Daddy unless it's very important, ok? He came in very late last night."

Lily nodded, frowning after her. Once the door closed again and Lily could here the alarmed shouts of her mother mixed in with the rapid excuses of her brothers and cousins, Lily's tears worked free. She sniffed them back as best she could and stomped back to the staircase then up to her room.

It was a small room, or at least it was smaller than her brothers' rooms, but it was filled with dolls and stuffed animals and other toys that received endless hours of play. Today, though, her little table was covered with one of her old pink bed sheets and adorned with the miniaturized tea set from Auntie Melissa and Uncle George which had tiny lilies-of-the-valley painted on them. She had loved staring at the delicate little cups and saucers and desert plates, taking in every detail. But now she didn't even want to look at them.

Maybe if she had been playing with her brothers instead of setting up for the tea party then she could have spent some time with Mum. With this dejected thought, Lily picked up one of the tea cups and threw it at the wall. The poor little cup broke into three large pieces and one very small piece.

Staring at the cup Lily started crying in earnest. She'd only wanted to have a tea party—tea parties were the only times when it was just her and Mum. Forget spending time with Dad, he was too busy tracking criminals or investigating something or going over things with Uncle Ron or talking with important people or sleeping to have a tea party. He'd promised to teach her how to fly once, but he hadn't gone near his broom in a long time.

A few minutes later, after flinging herself into her pillow to cry, Lily returned to the tiny table where her rag doll and plush griffin were still waiting for tea.

"I'm sorry for the delay," she told them, imitating Aunt Hermione's proper tones. "The tea's taking very long to boil."

Then she went to the broken cup and tears threatened to spill from her eyes again as she gathered the pieces into her hands.

"Is everything alright in here?"

Lily looked up to see her father, Harry Potter, standing in the doorway. He still looked a little sleepy, but he smiled at her in concern.

"What's the matter, Li-lu?" he asked.

"No one wants to have a tea party with me," Lily said, sniffing back her tears.

Harry raised his eyebrows. "What about Mr. Fiffnin and Rutabaga?"

Lily glanced back at the table. "They're not real," she said, her eyes dangerously close to tears.

Desperately wanting his pillow, Harry smiled at her. "Well I wouldn't mind a quick cup of tea from such a beautiful hostess," he said.

"Really?" Lily asked, her eyes lighting up instantly.

Harry gave her a larger smile and crouched down next to her. "Well, am I in time for tea?"

The little girl's face lit up with an enormous smile and she darted around the room.

"We have to get dressed up first," she said, plopping an insanely large hat on her father's head. Then she pulled on her ballet tutu and found her feather boas, one which she gave to her father.

Harry wrapped the purple string of feathers around his neck and smiled at her beneath the rim of the large hat. "How do I look?"

Lily giggled. "Beautious!"

"Beautious, huh?" Harry repeated, recognizing the word from Jasene's vocabulary. "Alright. Now what do we do, Madam hostess?"

His little girl gave him a large grin and lead him to the table.

Ginny had made the promise to murder her brother at least seven times when she finally got the boys back home from St. Mungo's after a quick bite to eat out. Whatever had happened to Felix and James was beyond her and the boys wouldn't tell, though they chuckled amongst themselves as they raced up to Albus and James' rooms.

"I don't want any more trips to St. Mungo's tonight—do you four hear me?" she called after them, dropping her bag and keys onto the parlor sofa.

"Yes, mum," shouted James and Albus along with some giggles from the twins before a door quickly shut.

Forcing herself not to assume that this would be too much to ask of the four boys, Ginny sighed and collected the take-out food she'd brought back for Lily and Harry. Then she went up to her little girl's room, making sure she was quiet as she passed the doorway to her own room in the hopes that Harry was still sleeping. After he'd come in at three in the morning, she kind of hoped she'd still be sleeping herself, but with James and Albus as sons, that scarcely happens.

The sound of giggling and voices grew louder as she got to Lily's door and Ginny stopped, frowning with curiosity. Digging into her pocket, Ginny pulled out two small objects that looked like marbles and rolled one under her daughter's door. This invention of her brothers' was actually proving itself to be her favorite. Within seconds she could see the image of her daughter's room within the remaining marble. Ginny raised her eyebrows in surprise, not only was Harry awake, but he and Lily looked like they were having a fantastic time. Real food had even been added to the tea party and Harry had Lily in nonstop giggles as he adjusted his hat.

Ginny smiled, at least some good had come from today. She quickly summoned the companion marble back and replaced them in her pocket.

_**A/N (part 2):** Because I apparently made some people flustered. No I don't think Ginny's a bad mom and I didn't intend to portray her as such, but if you have children you know that there are times you make questionable choices over small things which doesn't mean you should be instantly handed over to the authorities. This is one of those cases and Harry is, over all, way too light a sleeper anyway. And yes there are child-proof spells everywhere, but seriously didn't think I had to spell it all out. I beg pardon, but also ask that if you like things entirely clarified more than just reading a story, please stop reading my stuff. I tend to drop you in and explain where needed._


End file.
